It shall be this one's duty to offer recipes and menus. These will be easy to follow, and tested to be good enough that a slave would allow his Master to serve it to Master's Guests and reflect only the best of his Master.
For far worse than Master's anger is Master's disappointment.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

We'wah Memorial Slow Cooked Meal

Yes,
this simple slow cooked meal is more Italian in nature than First
Nation. However, slave thought it would be a nice way to honor and
teach about this most famous two-spirit leader.

An
easy to throw together hearty meal is a great way to fight off the
early spring rains. Frozen tortellini, fresh spinach, tomatoes and
no-fat cream cheese cooks itself! And you will get the credit! All
this needs is a bread and maybe a simple salad for a complete dinner.
Be sure to read the short article on We' wah after the recipe.

Ingredients:

1
bag of frozen tortellini (with meat)

1
8oz bag of fresh spinach

1
can drained diced tomatoes

1
can of low salt vegetable broth

1
block of no-fat cream cheese

Directions:

Wipe
out the slow cooker and spray with cooking spray. Set on low.

Cut
the cream cheese into cubes. Open and drain the tomatoes. Open the
can of broth.

Although
not necessary, slave likes to cut the stems off the spinach. This
takes time but is rewarding if spent focused on the one you serve.
Slave finds it centering.

Lay
the spinach into the cooker. Dump the tomatoes on top.

Scatter
the cube of cheese across this and add the frozen pasta. Pour broth
over the top, cover and let cook for 5 to 6 hours. Stir halfway
through the cooking time.

We'wha
(WAY-wah)
was born in 1849 in New Mexico as a member of the Zuni tribe. They
were enemies of the Navajos and Apaches and agreed to help the new
colonists fight wars for land. However, the Americans brought
smallpox to the village and in 1853 both of We'wha's parents died.

We'wha
dressed differently than the other boys, not in pants but instead
wore a long shirt that hung like a dress. This was the outfit
reserved for young girls. We'wha was first brought into religious
ceremonies for Zuni boys at age twelve. A few years later the tribe
recognized We'wha's :”Two Spirit” traits and her religious
training was handed over to females. (Zuni men and women could be
recognized as “Two-Spirit”, from as early as three or four.)

She
learned the skills of the Zuni woman, grinding and making corn meal,
making ceremonial pottery, cooking, and various domestic tasks.

In
1864
the
Zunis and the American troops won a victory over the Navajo. Some
members of We'wha's tribe moved into abandoned lands, becoming
farmers. There We'wha did the male occupation of a farming. In the
1870s We'wha took on more of the household duties.

In
1877
Protestant missionaries began to arrive. The idea was First Nationers
should be assimilated into “American” society by conversion to
Christianity.

The
Presbyterian Minister and medical doctor assigned to the tribe was
named Taylor F. Ealy. We'wha helped his wife care for their two
daughters, taught, and did various housework. We'wha may have served
as a matron in the dormitories of the mission school. She would also
have had the responsibility of kitchen maintenance, laundries, and
teaching young girls domestic skills. In 1881
the
frustrated missionaries began to depart the village. The Zuni,
socially-recognized “Two Spirits” as filling a third
gender role.Two-spirit
people were honored with influential positions.

We’wha
became a recognized expert in Zuni religion.

One
of America’s first women scientists, the anthropologist Matilda
Coxe Stevenson stated: “This Zuni was one of the tallest (at six
feet) and strongest members of her tribe.

Early
in 1886
Stevenson “introduced” this amazing person to the country's
leaders in Washington DC.

The
trauma of the Civil War was past. The last of the First Nation tribes
had been defeated. Now the country was starting to see the
consequences. In Washington, a new generation was eager to learn more
about its vanishing native people.

The
“Zuni 'princess' We’wha”, as the local papers dubbed her, was
an instant celebrity. All that year, she mingled with politicians,
government officials, politicians, and the local elite. She
befriended the speaker of the house and called on his wife. She
demonstrated Zuni weaving on the Mall and worked with anthropologists
at the Smithsonian Institution. Finally, in early June, she paid a
personal call on President Cleveland himself.

No
one in Washington doubted that the visitor from Zuni was a woman.
There was no mention of the fact, We’wha was born a man. The
European views did not accept the concept of a third gender.

That
such an individual could be a representative for the Zuni tribe shows
the extent to which they were accepted by the First Nationers. In
most tribes the ability to combine male and female qualities was
viewed as a gift.
It came as no surprise to the Zunis that We’wha would travel
thousands of miles, to a strange language and culture, to mingle with
the leaders of a powerful nation. We’wha was expected
to be extraordinary.

After
We'wha returned to their pueblo, relations between the Zuni and the
U.S. Government deteriorated. We'wha was arrested along with five
other Zuni leaders, accused of witchcraft,
and held for a month in prison.

At
the age of 47, in 1896,
We'wha died from heart failure, while participating in their annual
Sha'lako
festival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Read
more in the book “The Zuni Man-Woman” by Will Roscoe.